I take it UPS fleets are not “Gimmick” fleets, since they’re so competitive?

Would using Sea Monsters/Creatures count as a Gimmick? I once won a deathmatch scenario with a majority Sea Monster fleet.

2019 was either stronger or weaker in regards to Pirates for me, depending on how you look at it.

My group of friends and I haven’t ordered a lot of product this year – most of our orders were made 2018, with only 2 or 3 having happened this year – but we’ve played a good number of games together. Had a little bit of situation at one point caused by a difference in playstyles, but got over that and continued playing not too long after.

We actually played a game with someone else! A friend pulled a surprise visit (was a surprise for two of us, planned by the third) and played a round. He seemed to like it, though he was a bit baffled by things, so here’s hoping we can play with him again sometime.

The big hit this year was our (failed) Barbary Coast draft. I pulled my first (and our collective third) Super Rare pack! Unfortunately due to time constraints the draft was pack opening only and no games, but the experience of drafting from a limited selection of game pieces was enjoyed by all of us, and future drafts with other boxes, even if we have the majority of game pieces found in them, are a possibility.

For 2020 I’m not asking for much. Just more games with my friends and good times shared by the three of us. Another Super Rare pack would be amazing, and maybe, just maybe, some packs of the rarer sets for a good price (SCS being the big wish here, haha).

It seems that my years revolve around the campaign games I play in the summer. Preparing and figuring out the space to play, getting the map tables set up, playing the game, etc.

This year I set the new record of second largest physical campaign played, something I did not believe was possible, especially in the even more limited playing time this last Summer.

I was able to make a few more islands for Pirates games, some finished just before play started for the Summer game. I hope to make more and maybe even give some away. In a similar vein, I was able to bring more of my custom ships off of the paper, including some designed by JWDarkhurst.

Pirates video content for me has been slow. Some of this is due to me procrastinating and watching anime. 😀 That said, I was able to fully document the annual Summer game, continue coverage of CG4 and a few prominent games that I played at other times in the year, such as the Hunt for the Mask of Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0FUYxMCsBk
Coming back around to making islands, I was able to put together a two part tutorial that details how I more or less make islands for pirates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blW6dXBFUyw&list=PLY5ESzOKns5h55wtR_1MTo-Ha6nfda7kg

I’ve lost count of how many Pirates Podcasts I’ve been in, but each and every one was fun to make and participate in.

Sadly, the only other person that my brothers I have played with on a consistent basis moved away to somewhere in Oregon. We totally brought this guy into pirates, introduced him to the game, and played two campaigns with him. Before he left we had one last “Pirates Weekend” where we fit about 5 games into the space of a Saturday and Sunday.

Looking into 2020, I’m excited but also nervous. This summer will be the 5th anniversary of a Summer Campaign, and my brothers and I are already looking forward to it. I very much want to re-make all of my old campaign reports into videos, a daunting task. I want to be able to make some headway with my SS project on VASSAL, but I’m going to need some hardware upgrades for that I think. Speaking of VASSAL, I want to play more games with fellow pirates, and possibly make it a recurring segment on my Chanel. Furthermore I have some lofty ideas that I want to try on VASSAL, again with fellow pirates from the community.
I do hope to continue making islands, refining my techniques along the way; as well as expand the number of Custom Ships I bring off of the paper. Speaking of Customs, I’m eagerly looking forward to the next Custom Set that I’ve been working on with JWDarkhurst. It’s been in the works since last fall.
Hopefully real life issues will allow me to continue to make content for this game, and this community, that is my biggest hope for Pirates in 2020.